Ed tech, creative teaching, less reliance on the textbook.

Post navigation

Ditch That Textbook’s Best of 2017

2017 has come and gone, and it was a busy year! Here’s are the posts that were most popular with my readers for 2017. (Public domain image via Pixabay.com)

And just like that, 2017 is in the books.

Technology in classrooms has seen some great changes. For instance, “Flipgrid Fever” (flipgrid.com) has really taken off. Students have really shown their voice by recording short Flipgrid videos and sharing them with their classmates and the world.

In some ways, though, a lot has stayed the same. G Suite and Google Classroom (as well as Microsoft Office 365) have remained fixtures in many classes.

It seems like 2017’s focus has been less on “What are the new tools?” and more on “How can we improve learning with these tools?”

Last year saw several new projects with Ditch That Textbook that came to fruition in 2017:

I co-authored a new book — Ditch That Homework — with Alice Keeler. It’s all about strategies you can use immediately in class to reduce your reliance on homework — possibly ditching it all together.

This was the second year for the Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit, a free online conference for teachers. As this post is published, it’s still underway and has already blown 2016 away in terms of participants, video views and Twitter activity (#DitchSummit).

The Google Teacher Tribe podcast went on the air in 2017, and we’re 36 episodes into it. It regularly ranks in the top 10 of K-12 podcasts on iTunes and has hit the No. 1 spot.

Ditch That Conference was born, hosting about 75 people in person from three states and hundreds virtually from all over the world.

In 2017, I was at 54 schools, school districts and events in 15 different states and one new country — Australia! I presented at the TeachTechPlay conference in Melbourne, Australia, in April. (In fact, here’s a picture (to the right) of my wife, Melanie, and I at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia!)

Eighteen presentations were in my home state of Indiana. Second place was Texas with nine, followed by California and Illinois with four and Ohio, Michigan and Arkansas with three.

And 2018 is just days away! I’m just as excited and dedicated now as ever to provide you with great blog posts, videos and content. Plus, I have several new projects in the works, so stay tuned!

The United States was tops again for readers in 2017, with Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom following up. This was the same last year, too. India took the No. 5 spot, jumping ahead of New Zealand, and South Africa made the top 10 list!

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for … the most popular posts of 2017 from Ditch That Textbook:

7. 10 Google Slides activities to add awesome to classes –Google Slides may be my favorite of all of the Google apps in G Suite. Students can collaborate in it. They can create some pretty cool products. It allows for all sorts of creativity. Here are eight “outside of the box” ideas with Google Slides.

5. 15 FREE Google Drawings graphic organizers — and how to make your own — Graphic organizers are great for helping students work through their thinking. They’re easy to make, and they get students working (and thinking!) on their own. In this post, you can copy lots of graphic organizers I’ve created to customize and assign them to your students!

3. 20 video project ideas to engage students — This post has been one of my most popular ones for the past three years. It’s popular through Google searches for video project ideas. If you’re looking for some ideas, check it out!

1. 10 add-ons to Google Classroom you MUST try — This is a compilation of Google Chrome extensions and Google Sheets add-ons that work very nicely with Google Classroom and G Suite. They were created by my Ditch That Homework co-author, Alice Keeler. It’s amazing what can be done when these add-ons are incorporated!

What topics would you like to see covered in blog posts in 2017? Let me know in a comment below!

For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links:

Related

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. If you decide to purchase, think of it as a way of supporting Ditch That Textbook without paying anything extra! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

ABOUT MATT

Matt Miller

Ditch That Textbook is written by Matt Miller, a high school Spanish teacher in West Central Indiana. After trying to do the traditional "teach by the textbook" for a few years, he launched into a textbook-less path where learning activities were often custom-produced for his students as well as infused with technology. He likes the results a lot, and his students do, too. More about Matt »

SPEAKING Matt speaks at schools, conferences and events about intentional technology use in the classroom. More details »

Tech Like a PIRATE! Add a techy spark to the passion, enthusiasm and flair promoted by "Teach Like a PIRATE" by Dave Burgess in this FREE EBOOK! Get your copy now!